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8 In blogging

bloggers and brands | are they serious?

blogger-brand-relationships

So… is FREE advertising a ‘thing’ on blogs these days?

Do you write unpaid articles?

I’m kinda wondering if this is the expectation.

I’m sure many of you will have seen Catherine‘s recent posts about blogger/brand relationships.  If not, go have a read now!  ‘Professional Blogging: Should Brands Pay Bloggers For Product Reviews?‘ really brought some stuff to light.  Obviously I’m nowhere near Catherine’s professional blogger status, but thought I’d add my twopence to the discussion as I’ve had a few ‘odd’ requests myself lately.

It’s clear that more established ‘bigger’ bloggers are deserving of greater compensation than newbie bloggers that are yet to reach their potential.  Just good business sense, really.  A blog with 100,000+ hits a month is obviously a sound investment for brands and as such, should surely be able to expect some monetary compensation.  At the moment, free products are a lucky side effect of blogging for me – it’s not my reason for blogging.  I just love to write and communicate. 🙂

What Catherine has experienced is bad enough, but brands do seem to be taking things to a whole new level with us newer bloggers.  I know it’s a cliché to say it but blogging is bloody hard work!  It takes a lot of my time to post how I want to.  I’ve never just thrown out a filler post and if it ever gets to that stage, I’ll probably give it up tbh.  Bearing that in mind, it’s kind of insulting when brands expect something for nothing.  No compensation, no product to review.  Just a few images to include on your blog maybe.  What’s most offensive about this is that they may be under the impression that we’re lacking in ideas for content and will therefore be happy to write  a free ‘advert’ for their wares.

I’m not talking about fledgling independent brands here either; I’ll always be very happy to give support to brands just starting out.  These are big high street names who presumably spend thousands on advertising, yet it’s ok to ask for free promotion from us bloggers.  Seriously?  Is it just me or is this not just incredibly rude?  To think that I’m so desperate for content that I’m happy to spend hours writing about a product that I haven’t even seen.  No.  Just no.

I’d really love to know which other bloggers have experienced this.  I know from the comments on Catherine’s post that I’m not alone but am very curious to know how often they try it on.

Would you write a post (with links) advertising a brand you have no experience of?

Would you include a specific # on a Instagram pic at the request of a brand but without an offer of the product to review?

Would you retrospectively add a link to a brand whose product you had mentioned in an already published post?

I’ve had all 3 of the above in the last few months but luckily for me also have regular contact with several very experienced bloggers who I can ask for advice on these matters.  If you’ve had a blogger/brand collaboration that’s been slightly lacking on the collaborative side, do let me know!

lily kate x
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8 Comments

  • Reply
    PendleStitches
    14th August 2014 at 12:51 pm

    I get requests on a regular basis from agencies representing brands that have no correlation to the topics I discuss on my blog…no way I’m going to advertise a casino, for example. I actually find it quite insulting that they’ve obviously not taken the time to actually read my blog, or if they have they think I’m stupid or desperate enough to get involved with them, to the detriment of my blog.

    • Reply
      lily
      18th August 2014 at 5:19 pm

      I’ve had these too Evie! Wouldn’t we be great adverts for casinos ey, what with our crafts and lifestyle and all that! Looking forward to seeing you soon 🙂

  • Reply
    Alex
    14th August 2014 at 8:21 pm

    Weill I haven’t experienced any of that yet, I am probably too small of a blog. Anyway …

    “Would you write a post (with links) advertising a brand you have no experience of?”
    No – and absolutely certainly not without any compensation.

    “Would you include a specific # on a Instagram pic at the request of a brand but without an offer of the product to review?”
    I sometimes hashtag brands in my pics, but that’s because I actually already have the product and am using it and want to share goodness.

    “Would you retrospectively add a link to a brand whose product you had mentioned in an already published post?”
    Sure … if they pay me =)

    Alex – Funky Jungle

    • Reply
      lily
      18th August 2014 at 5:16 pm

      Thanks so much for commenting! Lucky you not receiving one of these ridiculous requests! I’d answer exactly the same to all the questions 🙂

  • Reply
    Catherine @ Not Dressed As Lamb
    14th August 2014 at 9:03 pm

    Lily this is an excellent post – and thank you for mentioning mine, I really appreciate it! Many posts are popping up all over the bloggesphere at the moment about this very subject and I think it’s brilliant that we’re getting it out in the open and discussing it. We need to know the sorts of rubbish (and, frankly, insulting) offers that we’re all getting and by communicating how we’re not prepared to accept them more and more it will hopefully get back to the brands and PR people that we won’t do something-for-nothing. And good for you for maintaining the integrity of your blog by not writing filler posts, respect to you for that!

    Catherine x

    • Reply
      lily
      18th August 2014 at 5:13 pm

      Nowhere near as excellent as yors Catherine! It does seem to be common topic at the minute – which it needs to be seeing as more and more brands are having the same idea! I think the brands and PRs just need a better idea of what blogging actually is and the kind of work a blogger actually does. Hopefully more of them will realise this soon!
      And thank you very much!

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